The Ballad Of Em And Ali D
by SashaLikaMusica
Summary: Their love is inevitable; it's there, clearly, however it's not going to be perfect. Nothing in life goes without trials, and, well . . . death? Disappearance? Maybe even MURDER? Well, that's just another thing to prove how strong their love really is. Emison is endgame. It's undeniable. :P


**A/N: Just a little fragment dedicated to the undeniable love of Emily and Alison. :) They make me feel so fluffy inside.**

_We never were - we'll never be - strangers kissing in the pouring rain chasing after your leaving train, but we know that's not how our song goes._

_- Our Song (The Spill Canvas)_

They begin, and they aren't perfect. After all, how could they be – they're not exactly the _ideal _high school sweethearts. Emily's invisible, and Alison's a control freak; in any other world but this, there's no way they're meant to be. Emily isn't expecting to be captured, but it happens anyways, all in a rush of whipping curls and summer-sweet perfume.

It isn't ideal, but it's there.

They compliment each other nicely, all the others think – but they keep their opinions to themselves. After all, no one knows what will happen in the end. The two are like a photograph; Emily's the solid background, the soft colors, a bit unstable, but dependable and whole. Ali is the object of focus in the lens, changing and moving so rapidly that she's almost impossible to follow – dangerous, and a little blurry around the edges where the truth has been wiped away.

Emily always was the only one who could see beneath the lies.

High school begins, and all five girls are inseparable. Emily sticks with Alison during every single class. They giggle during movies and slideshows when everyone else is fully absorbed; they write notes to each other behind the teacher's back. When she's bored, Emily doodles hearts on the corner of her paper, and just like _she_ ignores the fact that Alison uses her as a cheat sheet, Ali pretends that she doesn't see.

On weekends, they have sleepovers – Aria always wins for movie choices, Hanna ends up eating alone in the corner, and Spencer votes down truth or dare, so the night always ends with Ali and Em sitting up in the dark, silent, just listening to each other breathe. The others fall asleep before they do, and so they simply sit there, quietly, the grisly screams of horror movies echoing through the room. It's not as if they have to say anything; both of them understand, and roll their eyes.

When morning comes, it finds the other girls in various positions on the floor, Em and Ali curled up together on the twin mattress, bodies intertwined so closely it's impossible to tell who's who.

It's really Alison who kisses Emily the first time, leaning forward in the dusky shadows of the library, book spread open in her lap. She makes Emily giggle with names like Pip, and reads a passage for her with a knowing look in her eyes.

Alison's lips taste like cherry chapstick, and Emily's so caught up in the moment that she doesn't realize that it's so incredibly cliché.

The next day in the locker room, Ali rejects her – pushes her away with harsh eyes and a look that purely burns. Emily tries to leave, but Ali stops her – she's her _ride, _remember? They don't talk the whole way home, and when they arrive, Emily leaves the car without speaking, leaving Alison's unspoken words still hanging on her lips. They make up after that, but nothing is quite the same.

Then Alison goes missing, and Emily torments herself every night, replaying the events of that fateful evening to see what could possibly have gone wrong. The whole town's in mourning, but She cries alone in her room, immobile on the twin bed they always shared – her mother tries so hard to coax her up, but she doesn't move. She knows the other girls are doing the same thing.

School time comes again, and Spencer buries herself deeper into her studies than ever before. She smiles at them in the hallway, but that's it – they're friendly, but no longer friends. Hanna disappears, and then reappears completely unrecognizable, with Mona Vanderwaal as her new best friend. She clearly doesn't need them anymore. Aria moves away, and moves back again, taller now, but just barely. The pink stripes are gone from her hair, and though her name is still Aria, nothing much else seems the same.

Emily is stuck in place, still trapped in the moment where they all once were friends.

Maya moves in, and slowly, something begins to form. Emily thinks she's falling again, but then she remembers that love hurts too much. Maybe it doesn't even exist.

Then they find Alison's body, and her world is torn apart. She finds herself standing next to her three former friends, and really, it's all too familiar – the way Hanna's eyes squeeze shut when she sobs (her makeup runs like never before); the stony expression on Spencer's face (cold, unmoving); the way Aria shudders, crying without tears (they've all changed really, but together, they're the same). They begin again, struggling to overcome what happened before.

A begins stalking them, and once again, she's afraid. People die everyday, people tell her – just not in the same town, usually. Ian's gone, and so is Garret, and Melissa is acting stranger every minute of every day. Cars run into houses; people try to drown her, and she realizes that nothing is safe anymore. So much has happened now – she's heard it's all because of a girl who's gone missing; people whisper that they were friends, lovers even, but all she can remember is a whip of blonde hair, a night with a storm, and something once spoken about immortality.

Emily thinks that she's heard this story before,

Then one night, they're chasing that bitch down again, and the lodge is set on fire. They're all going to die – she knows that it's true, and Mona is saying that she doesn't know what's happening either. She passes out because of the smoke, all the fumes, and when she awakens, she lying on the ground outside. A face is hovering above her in the flames, and she catches a glimpse of blue eyes before the girl runs away.

It all comes rushing back to her in a cacophony of sound; she's terrified because it's all happening so fast, and all that she can think of is that Ali never ran.

Then they're in Ravenswood, and Alison's definitely alive and well, but so's Cece, and someone who calls himself A. She remembers now what they're supposed to be doing, but she can't find the heart inside her to move. They crash a midnight party on Halloween night – Aria's idea, she's sure.

They come face to face with Ali outside, and the girl rushes into their arms. She's sobbing into Emily's shoulders now, and all poor Em can do is hold her. She brushes the sleek blonde hair back from her head, and her lips seek soft lips in the dark. The girls are all watching, but she doesn't care – she has to know now if any of it was real.

Alison's lips taste like cherries, like comfort and home, and at their touch, Em's first thought is _I remember you now._


End file.
